Hodes blasts Republicans on fin. reform

From NBC's Jenna PfefferIn a conference call with reporters today, Rep. Paul Hodes (D-NH) -- who is running for the Senate to replace retiring Sen. Judd Gregg (R) -- blasted New Hampshire Republicans for not supporting the financial reform legislation that the Senate is considering.

It is "time that Sen. Gregg and the Republicans stood up and stood on the side of the middle class families ... instead of the big banks on Wall Street," he said.

Hodes urged Gregg, as well as the Republican candidates vying for his Senate seat, to hold big banks accountable to ensure that they never "hold Americans hostage again." He emphasized the fact that this is something that not only New Hampshire families, but also the entire country, desperately need.

The New Hampshire Democrat proclaimed that Gregg has "maintained a partisan stance on Wall Street reform," and he insisted that there is no reason that this reform shouldn't be a bipartisan effort. Hodes also claimed that the Republicans would rather stick up for "reckless financial policies that drove our economy into a ditch," instead of standing up for small businesses and families.

In particular, Hodes criticized Bill Binnie and Kelly Ayotte -- two of the Republicans running for the Senate seat -- for standing with special interests. "Ayotte must be waiting for talking points from Republican folks in Washington because she said absolutely nothing, and you can only assume from the fact that she said nothing that she opposes Wall Street reform." He also warned that we should not let the lobbyists who are invading Washington "stonewall reform."